Inside the Star

Leafs searching for answers

The Maple Leafs' front office is not happy with the team's on-ice performance and is waiting to hear from GM John Ferguson and coach Paul Maurice what they plan to do about it. Leaf president Richard Peddie, trying to push aside talk of imminent change within the club, said the board of directors is not going to overreact to one bad month.

Embattled Leaf coach Paul Maurice said he would prefer to take the heat for his club’s recent slide (three straight losses) rather than his players.

By:Kevin McGranSPORTS REPORTER, Published on Tue Nov 27 2007

The Maple Leafs' front office is not happy with the team's on-ice performance and is waiting to hear from GM John Ferguson and coach Paul Maurice what they plan to do about it.

Leaf president Richard Peddie, trying to push aside talk of imminent change within the club, said the board of directors is not going to overreact to one bad month.

"We're going to be very methodical in how we approach this, and not reactionary," Peddie said yesterday. "Both Paul and John have contracts and we look to them to right the ship.

"I know they've been very busy thinking about how they can get the team going in the right direction and I look forward to hearing those plans shortly from them."

Many believe Peddie's credibility within MLSE is at issue. He has steadfastly defended Ferguson, and protected the GM when others at the organization wanted him fired. Peddie was also frozen out from the basketball side when Bryan Colangelo was hired to run the Raptors after Peddie's choice, Rob Babcock, was fired.

Larry Tanenbaum, the chairman of the board of MLSE, could not be reached for comment yesterday. Calls were referred to John Lashway, the organization's senior vice-president of communication, who said Peddie speaks for the team.

Ferguson and his hand-picked coach, Maurice, are definitely on the hotseat as the Leafs struggle through November and a list of possible GM and coaching replacements grows longer.

Meanwhile, a battle-weary – and oft-divided – front office is grappling with the pressure from increasingly surly fans, who clamour for something – anything – to be done as the club heads towards another non-playoff season, the third in a row.

"Where we are today, and particularly the way we played the last seven games is not acceptable and clearly not what we expected," Peddie said. "Both John and Paul were optimistic we could get into the playoffs, and that's not where we're trending right now, so no one's very happy with that."

When Ferguson went before the board of directors after last season, he presented a plan that would see the Leafs make the playoffs, which has huge budgetary implications for the shareholders of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment.

Ferguson's plan included the re-signing of captain Mats Sundin, the acquisitions of goalie Vesa Toskala, centre Mark Bell and winger Jason Blake with an eye on keeping the core of players together, a core that had missed the playoffs by one point last year, but missed the playoffs nonetheless.

According to Peddie, from a business perspective, that plan remains in place, and making the playoffs remains the team's goal.

"Our plan for this year has already been approved and it calls for us to be in the playoffs," said Peddie. "Do we say that we're an overwhelming choice to win the Stanley Cup? That would have been naïve.

"The plan this year is the plan John recommended and had approved."

But things could very easily change. Peddie insists Ferguson – whose contract expires after this season – has free rein to make moves as he sees fit. Peddie insists the board has never interfered in player moves in the 10 years Peddie's been with the organization.

Peddie said it would be up to Ferguson to come forward with a new plan, one that might involve trades, either to get better players now or to shed players to stock up on draft picks and prospects for the future.

"It's up to the general manager to bring that forward," said Peddie. "Obviously the trend is not good. We're looking for John and Paul to right the ship and make the corrections necessary to get us back on the right track."

As the calls for change grew louder, Maurice simply called it the reality of coaching.

"You lose three in a row, that's going to come out in this town," said Maurice. "It's a pretty natural part of coaching in this league, when you lose a few games.

"I would prefer to have (the heat on me) than on the players. It's something through experience you learn to handle, and come back to work, and refocus and get the boys ready to play."

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